


I'm Here Now

by elliebird



Category: Political RPF - US 21st c.
Genre: First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-20
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2020-12-14 19:23:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21020987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elliebird/pseuds/elliebird
Summary: I started writing this before I got to chapter 17 of the Shortest Way Home. I could have changed it, but I chose not to. It'sfiction, after all.





	I'm Here Now

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Dermot Kennedy because I have listened to nothing else since _Without Fear_ was released.

Battling Friday traffic out of Chicago is the last thing Chasten wants to do at the end of a busy week. His days are long, ten and twelve hours of work that doesn’t stop when he leaves school. He’s tired. If he didn’t have a cute guy waiting for him in South Bend, he’d crash early with take out and a terrible tv show to binge. But Pete, his sort-of-maybe-not-yet boyfriend texts him every evening to ask how his day was. He sends emails in the afternoon, sharing stories that always make Chasten smile. He’s all Chasten thinks about these days. 

It’s nearly six when Chasten pulls up in front of Pete’s house. When he rings the doorbell, Pete answers almost immediately. 

“Hi,” Chasten says, a feeling like he can’t catch his breath making his chest tight. 

Pete’s dressed down - for him - in a pair of blue jeans that might make him look a little geeky if not for the incredible way they pull across his ass, and a pale blue polo. He’s freshly showered. Chasten moves in for a hug and Pete is warm against him. He’s wearing a subtly sexy cologne that makes Chasten want to say to hell with taking things slow. 

Pete takes him to a brewery by the river, yet another example of South Bend’s economic resurgence. The factory was renovated into a place for families to come for good pizza from locally sourced ingredients and craft beer.

The place is buzzing with people who want Pete’s attention. It’s a good twenty minutes before they’re left alone in their booth by the window, with a view of the water and the encroaching twilight. 

In the week since they last saw each other, Chasten has thought about nothing but Pete. He’s replayed the sweet moments during dinner, Pete’s eyes slipping momentarily to Chasten’s lips before catching himself. The way he quietly said, “thank you” after Chasten shared a particularly emotional memory. His favorite is the way Pete felt against him, hesitant to pull away when Chasten hugged him goodnight, and the tender expression making his eyes soft.

“What do you like on your pizza?” Pete asks, looking up from the expansive menu. 

Chasten just wants to sit and look at Pete. He has laugh lines around his mouth and a softness around his eyes that makes Chasten’s heart flip flop every time he smiles. The top button of his polo’s undone, a flash of skin that makes Chasten want to press his mouth to it. 

“I’m a traditionalist,” Chasten says. “Pepperoni is good. Sometimes I like to get a little crazy with peppers and mushrooms.” 

“So that’s a no to the reuben pizza?” Pete asks, deapan.

“The what now?” 

Pete laughs and Chasten feels like he’s won something. He tucks each of Pete’s laughs away, clinging to them and the way it feels to have his attention. 

When the server appears, Pete orders a large pizza with veggies and pepperoni and a pitcher of IPA. 

Chasten thinks beer tastes like it came from a toilet. He dutifully takes a sip since Pete seems to love this particular beer and unsuccessfully tries to hide his reaction. 

“Good god,” Chasten sputters, unable to help the shudder. 

This time when Pete laughs, there’s a pretty flush in his cheeks that sends heat curling through Chasten. God, he’s in deep. 

Pete’s still smiling when he gets to his feet. “Give me a moment,” he says. 

Chasten’s gaydar has never worked all that well. But his baby radar is finely tuned. His gaze drifts to the table across from theirs and the family of five. There’s a little blond boy in a high chair with big blue eyes and pizza sauce on his cheek. When the baby catches Chasten’s eye, he grins, showing off his three teeth and melting Chasten’s heart completely. 

“You really love kids,” Pete says, pulling Chasten’s attention back to his date, holding a glass of white wine and looking at Chasten with a tenderness that makes his chest ache. 

“I thought you’d like this a little better,” he says, setting the glass in front of Chasten and taking his seat. 

He holds his beer up and Chasten, speechless, knocks their glasses together. 

This is who Pete is. He’s quickly learning that Pete Buttigieg, veteran, mayor and newly out of the closet has a capacity for kindness and compassion that Chasten has been missing in his life. 

“Thank you,” Chasten says. It’s not easy to hide how touched he is by Pete remembering the kind of wine he likes. He offers Pete a taste and goes warm all over when Pete accepts. 

His lips on the glass where his own have been is sweetly intimate. 

Everything with Pete has been very innocent. They’re taking things at a slower pace than Chasten’s used to. In previous relationships, he’s rushed headlong over the precipice. Pete’s been in the closet for thirty-three years. Chasten is his first relationship. It’s a responsibility he wants to be worthy of shouldering. 

They demolish most of the pizza over the course of an hour. Occasionally, a friend or acquaintance of Pete’s will interrupt, wanting to meet Chasten. From what Chasten has seen, South Bend loves their mayor and doesn’t seem to care that he’s gay. If anything, the city has welcomed him and his truth with open arms. 

“Walk with me?” Pete asks afterwards. They’re standing in the parking lot, reluctant for the date to end.  
The sun’s beginning to set, turning the sky a riotous rainbow of pink and orange. It’s still suffocatingly humid. 

“Of course,” Chasten agrees without hesitation. He has a long drive home but he will do anything to spend even ten more minutes with Pete. 

Pete takes his hand automatically and leads them out of the parking lot through a shortcut, along a rebuilt pedestrian path that leads towards bank of the river. He fits their fingers together and warmth blooms through Chasten where their palms touch, to his fingertips, the back of his neck, down his spine. 

As they walk, Chasten tells a story about one of his students. Pete listens wordlessly, giving Chasten all of his attention. He watches Chasten with a steady softness that makes him feel both weak kneed and like he could do anything. 

The sky begins to darken as they walk and Chasten realizes, after nearly thirty minutes that Pete has grown quiet, contemplative. 

“Hey,” Chasten says, tightening his fingers around Pete’s. He slows them to a stop in a grove of trees along the north end of the bridge and the lights Pete’s so proud of. “Are you alright?” 

In the weeks since they’ve known one another, Chasten has learned that Pete is quietly observant. When asked a question, whether it’s from a constituent about a recent policy or Chasten wanting to know his favorite episode of Game of Thrones, he’s careful with his words. Chasten swears he can see the cogs turning as Pete formulates an answer. 

“I’m alright,” Pete echoes with a smile that reaches all the way to his eyes. Chasten loves the way his eyes soften when he smiles, the faint lines on his skin, the shape of his mouth. “You?” 

Chasten makes a sound in the affirmative. “You’ve been quiet.”

He hesitates. Chasten can see him struggling to make a decision. “Chasten,” he says. His voice is careful, questioning. 

“Yes, Peter.” Whatever Pete wants, the answer is _yes_. 

Pete’s eyes drop to his mouth. 

Pete is careful. He doesn’t rush into a decision. Chasten has known that he might have to be the one to steer this ship. He holds himself still. When it’s clear what Pete’s intention is, Chasten tilts his head, letting Pete have the lead but showing him that he wants it, too. 

Chasten has never known someone to seek consent as constantly and unflinchingly as Pete. It’s beautiful, sweet and surprising in how sexy it is. 

Pete settles his hand at Chasten’s side just beneath his ribcage. When he leans in, Chasten is right there, ready and wanting. He kisses Chasten with a closed mouth at first, until Chasten takes the lead, lets his lips part and encourages Pete to _kiss_ him. __

_ _It’s a beautiful kiss. A near perfect kiss, with the summer wind rustling the leaves of the trees overhead. Chasten’s chest constricts. He curls his fingers in Pete’s shirt where his palm presses to his chest. He can feel the beat of Pete’s heart. He tugs until Pete steps forward, not quite meeting Chasten where he wants with hips and thighs touching, but it’s enough for now. _ _

_ _Pete’s breath catches. Chasten eases the kiss a little deeper, giving Pete the chance to stop him if he wants. He doesn’t. He slips a hand around Chasten’s waist, settling in the small of his back and rests the other on Chasten’s arm. _ _

_ _Chasten wasn’t sure what to expect, kissing Pete. Pete kisses the way he listens. He’s intense and focused, but careful of giving too much. _ _

_ _It’s one of the sweetest kisses of Chasten’s life. _ _

_ _Chasten eases the kiss to a stop, mindful of where they are. Despite Pete’s career choice, he’s a private person. He takes a breath like he’s been underwater and takes Chasten by surprise, an arm around his waist as he presses his face to Chasten’s throat. _ _

_ _Chasten holds onto him, his heart racing, terrified of letting go. _ _

_ _It’s dark when Chasten drops Pete off at his house. Chasten walks him up the steps because Pete makes him want to be the kind of guy who does. _ _

_ _Pete doesn’t ask him in. Chasten’s relieved. He’d like to take Pete to bed now, before either of them are really ready. They reach for each other in tandem and Chasten backs Pete up against the door frame, standing in the shadows of Pete’s darkened entryway. _ _

_ _Pete surprises him in the way he submits for Chasten, letting him take the lead, and the reigns. It’s thrilling - a position Chasten’s not used to finding himself in. He understands what Pete is trusting him with. _ _

_ _Chasten cups Pete’s jaw, carefully keeps him still as he kisses him as thoroughly as he’s wanted to, slipping his tongue between Pete’s parted lips to taste him. _ _

_ _The sound Pete makes, low and aroused, makes his blood hot. It accelerates quickly, Pete clutching at Chasten’s hips, gasping when Chasten eases the kiss to neutral and then dives back in. _ _

_ _Chasten brings the kiss to an abrupt end, a hand on Pete’s chest above his racing pulse. He rests his forehead against Pete’s shoulder. He reminds himself that this is new for Pete. Pete, always surprising Chasten, wraps his arms around Chasten’s middle, leans his head back against the door and lets Chasten catch his breath. _ _

_ _Eventually, Chasten takes a step back. His resolve to say goodnight and head home bends under the weight of a well-kissed Pete. He’s loose-limbed, braced against the door. His lips are pink and sore-looking, his eyes hazy. He’s fucking lovely. _ _

_ _Chasten gives in and leans back in. This time he keeps a tight grip on the reigns and kisses Pete carefully, lips parted, a sexy kiss that can’t lead anywhere. Pete’s breath catches and he reaches for Chasten, fingers curling in the sleeves of his shirt. _ _

_ _Chasten stops him with a self-deprecating huff of laughter. “I’m leaving now,” he says with a fleeting kiss against the corner of Pete’s mouth. _ _

_ _“Okay,” Pete says with a smile. _ _

_ _“I am,” Chasten insists but Pete smells so sexy, his tight, compact body taunting Chasten. _ _

_ _“I know,” Pete agrees. _ _

_ _“In a minute,” Chasten decides and leans back in._ _

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. I'm on Tumblr.


End file.
